Acsa CEO’s plea falls on deaf ears
An official communication from Acsa CEO Bongani Maseko for staff not to leak information to the media and use official communication channels to air their grievances was itself leaked to the media on Tuesday.
An official communication from Airports Company SA (Acsa) CEO Bongani Maseko for staff not to leak information to the media and use official communication channels to air their grievances was itself leaked to the media on Tuesday.
Acsa confirmed that Maseko had circulated a letter to staff following media reports, notably in Business Day, about a campaign by a “concerned group” who are campaigning for his removal.
The staff campaign was based on forensic reports recommending disciplinary action against Maseko and three senior managers over alleged violations of the Public Finance Management Act.
The managers — Percy Sithole (procurement), Jabulani Khambule (regional airports) and Bongani Machobane (legal counsel) — were found guilty of corruption and wasteful and fruitless expenditure by an internal disciplinary hearing. They were suspended on full pay. Acsa’s board also resolved to act against Maseko but it has not done so yet.
An anonymous group of staff members has provided copies of e-mailed letters to the Presidency, the transport and finance departments and the public protector, in which it appealed for action against personnel named in two forensic reports.
The first was a 2015 report by Deloitte and a second by Dr VS Mncube Consulting in 2016.
Maseko did not address any of the allegations in his letter last Friday, though he admitted that he had taken a decision not to openly address these allegations with staff members in the past.
He said he was most concerned about Acsa’s good name and that of its employees being dragged into an “unfortunate sequence of events”.
“I must say it is a difficult position to be in, given that it is seldom wise to address rumours and allegations in the media — especially when my own name is used. There are processes under way in relation to these matters and I believe we should respect these,” he said.